2020 hasn't been great for us but there are many people who've got it worse, and I am thankful my wife and I still have our jobs and health.
The pandemic hasn't been all that bad here in Portugal, and I must admit I did enjoy the lockdowns and home working for while, if only for the empty streets for more tranquil cycling, and for the money I've saved from not buying coffees or snacks during my workday.
In 2020 finally had the time and motivation to get a money earning scheme working, something I'd been working towards on and off for over 15 years, but without much success until now.
Brexit is a bit of a sad event for us here, since I and my daughter are British. Despite everything that has come to pass, including the stress and anxiety it has given me, and how utterly different (and worse) the current Brexit is compared to what was sold to voters in the 2016 referendum, my mother still staunchly supports Brexit and wanted to know why I wasn't celebrating Brexit at 11 pm on the 31st of December. Brexit has become a religion now for some people, and there's no getting through to them now, I suppose.
Brexit has also meant it is no longer economical to order bike bits from UK shops, so goodbye CRC and SJS, but there are plenty of nearly as good stores in the EU (bike24 in Germany is even owned by Wiggle/CRC). Once things settle down a bit, I may try buying some retrobike parts from the UK to see whether they get through, but the chances are I will have to pay some kind of tax and duty on them, which will make my retrobike obsession a bit more expensive.
Leading up to 2020 I had been building up to participating in more ambitious endurance MTB events, and had planned to enter my first ultra marathon, as a prelude to entering the Tour Divide in 2021 or soon after. Obviously neither was possible due to Covid 19. Hopefully some MTB XC marathons will be allowed to go ahead this year.
I've also been wanting to meet up with some fellow retrobikers, at the Mayhem or elsewhere, maybe this year if the Covid thing permits.
I wish you all a happy, safe and prosperous 2021, filled with retrobike goodness.
)
